Thursday, May 03, 2007

My Teacher, The Thief

I watched Stand By Me last weekend, and I was really struck by the scene in which River Phoenix's and Wil Wheaton's characters discuss the theft of milk money. The conversation goes something like this:

WW: Well, did you take it?RP: Yeah, you knew I took it. But maybe I tried to give it back. Maybe I gave the money to Ms. So-and-so, and maybe the next week she was wearing a new skirt. WW: Oh yeah, she did wear a new skirt.RP: I just never thought--a teacher would do something like that to a kid.

To this child, teachers were above such things. He couldn't even envision it, and the realization and treachery brought him to tears.

HILLSBORO, Ore. - A Hillsboro mother found her daughter's missing winter coat on eBay, and now a teacher at the girl's elementary school faces charges of theft and computer crimes.

Elizabeth Logan, 41,is on paid administrative leave from Jackson Elementary. She denies stealing the coat, saying she got it from a lost-and-found, Cmdr. Chris Skinner said.

The mother searched the school's lost and found for the coat, then decided to turn to eBay for a replacement. After finding a seemingly identical coat, she noticed that the seller was from Hillsboro...

Logan's salary is nearly $69,000 a year, and she has taught 20 years at two elementary schools. She is to appear in court Friday.

Stealing from a student is inexcusable. Stealing period stinks. I just had a talk with my ninth graders about respecting others' property. The talk was based on respect for others and their persons and property. Two students had broken a chair I keep at the front of the class to sit my old butt down during class. How a role model could throw her reputation overboard for money I don't know. We teach no matter what we do. Sometimes it good things, sometimes it bad things.

Perhaps you should do a follow up to show that there's a little bit more to the story. But usually no one ever follows up after the original inflammatory headline. We usually prefer to hang someone before we've heard both sides of the story. This case is one of misunderstanding & poor judgement rather than true criminality.